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Couple Accused Of Locking Child In Cage

HUNTINGBURG, Ind. -- A Dubois County dentist and his wife were arrested this week on allegations they regularly keep one of their children locked in a “cage.”

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Dubois County Circuit Court on Thursday, sheriff’s deputies were called to Alan and Aimee Friz’s home on Wednesday on a report of a developmentally disabled child who was out of control.

The girl’s grandfather told police she had had him in the face and pushed him to the ground when he attempted to discipline her for being unruly.

Aimee Friz, the girl’s mother, also told police she worried about her daughter’s behavior and that the girl had “dreamed of killing the (unborn) baby and her mom, but she didn’t want to do it because she didn’t want to go to jail.”

During further conversations with the girl and the family, deputies said they learned several things that troubled them, among them that the girl allegedly sleeps in a cage at night and is locked in with a chain and combination lock. The cage was said to be a closet that had been converted. The girl also told police she was allowed to roam the property when her mother was home, but otherwise was locked in the cage;

In an interview with police, the girl’s father, Alan Friz, reportedly admitted that they keep the girl in the cage but said it was for her own safety.

At that time, deputies contacted Child Protective Services to remove all of the children from the home and placed Alan Friz under arrest on preliminary charges of criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent. Aimee Friz was located in St. Louis and advised to return home, at which point she was also taken into custody.

Dubois County prosecutors filed a motion on Thursday to hold the couple without bond for 72 hours until an initial hearing in front of a judge.